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Resident Evil 4
Reviewed By: Isiah Zombie
Introduction
Hello there fellow gamers and thank you for clicking this review. Well let's start off by saying that Resident Evil 4 is by far the greatest game of it's generation. The graphics surpass anyone's greatest imagination and the gameplay is AWESOME.

Many people who disagree with this game's greatness say that, "It's not as scary as the original RE's" and "The camera angle sucks." First of all, I haven't played any previous RE's to an extent to comment on the scare factor but let me say this: Don't compare the games! You will just ruin the enjoyment of this game by complaining to your parents all day long. Second of all, the camera angle makes it easier to aim and move around so if you end up dying it's your own fault. This game also has a lot replayability and great sounds but more on that later on.

Side note: This review may contain minor spoilers. Read at own risk. You have been warned.
Story
Alright, this game takes place in 2004, yay! The main character for this game is Leon S. Kennedy from Resident evil 2. He now works for the Government and his objective is to rescue the President's missing daughter. Apparently, someone has captured her and she's being held captive in a rural part of Europe. He then gets dropped off near a path to the village and wonders off to a house and shows a photograph to a villager (villagers are known as Ganados in Resident Evil 4). The ganado gets PO'd and grabs his axe and attacks. Anyways, you start seeing a lot of these scattered random villagers throughout the game. They are not zombies though... hmmm. Let's just say that a new virus is introduced into the Resident Evil series.

The story is a bit cliche, I'll admit that, but it's also humorous with chalk loads of cheesy lines. But it's nothing to get all upset about, sagacious as I am, even I get lost in this little world of one-liners. So if anyone says that the story of Resident Evil 4 isn't cool, go ahead and say, "No thanks, BRO!" That's about it for the story. You want to find out more? huh? Do you? Play the game ok.
Gameplay
Also known as "DA MEAT" this is what makes the name a game. It exceeded all of my expectations. One of the first things you'll notice while playing RE 4 is that a third person view is being used. "Say what?" Yes, yes, don't be upset. The gameplay mechanics are done to it's fullest with laser sight aiming capabilities, new weapon inventory space and the introduction of Tom Merchant. The Merchant sells you weapons and upgrades which add a whole new gaming experience to this survival-horror series.

Let's talk about some of the weapons. There are Handguns, Shotguns, Magnums, Rifles and some "Special weapons." You start of with a Handgun and sooner or later you get to pick up a Shotgun. As the game progresses, you get to buy and find more weapons until you are packed up with firearms. Upgrades cost a certain amount of money of course so you have to keep a close eye on your money. That's what makes this game so great. Different type of weapons, stuff to use your money on, it just adds a nice flow to the game.

A new feature that I find really satisfying is the button commands in some of the cutscenes. You must react quickly and press certain button combinations to survive a specific task. Not only do these button commands happen during cutscenes, but also in the middle of gameplay. Like when a group of Ganados push down a boulder you must tap A rapidly to outrun the boulder. Genius. This is absolutely amazing.

Enemies are smarter than usual. Then now hold pitchforks, knives and dynamite. You can hear them giving each other orders for your hearing pleasure. This adds a lot of intense moments where you have to be alert to stay alive.

If you find this game a bit too hard for you and you end up dying often, the game will decrease it's difficulty level for ya. Seriously, enemies become easier to defeat and less enemies appear. So don't be intimidated to buy this game. It loves you too.

...But this game is a tad on the gory side. Leon can be decapitated in so many ways, but that's a good thing. Bosses are also well done. You'll be astounded while fighting a big fish in a huge lake and giant trolls who mysteriously found shorts that fit. It does good in the gameplay category.
Controls
Brilliant. Though at first I was a bit skeptical at not having the ability to strafe, dodge, jump, duck or shoot while running. But come on! This is a survival game not an action game... although it seems that way. You can use the knife no matter which weapon you have, convenient for close encounters. To keep the game simple yet increasingly innovative, a prompt will appear on the bottom of the screen to perform a certain task such as climbing ladders, kicking stunned enemies, duck, pushing down ladders, suplexing baddies, opening doors etc. This maximizes interaction to the fullest.

You will be able to get the hang of the controls pretty easy, pretty fast, so you should be on your way to blasting enemy villagers in no time. Oh, I remember someone on the message boards who didn't know how to run until late in the game, hold B to run fool!
Visuals and Graphics
Don't get me started. I said don't! Ah too late. The graphics are better than any other game on the market today. Don't give me that "Half-Life 2" and "Doom 3" crap. Those games may be better than the PS2 port of this game but not the Gamecube one. The environments in Resident Evil 4 are detailed to the fullest extent and have some the most detailed levels ever seen on any game console. You will have a fresh new feeling everytime you enter a new area due the extreme amount of attention that has brought to the level design. That one room with the fire dragons should be awarded with the Graphics Medal of Honor. If you don't have this game trust me, the graphics are a flawless sight to behold.
Music and Sound
Wow. Just wow. There are three types of sounds: soundtrack, voice acting and sound effects. Let's start with the soundtrack. Creepy tunes build up tension and harmonic enemy intros filter this game like a swiss army knife on swiss cheese. No problems here. *checks list* Voice acting, ah the voices in this game are great. Leon sounds good, Ashley sounds good, Mendez sounds lame, Ada sounds good... again, nothing bad going on here. *checks list*

Sound effects. Explosions sound right, Ganados yelling in the distance sound real, chainsaws are heard well "Vrooom V-V-VROOOM!!!" and the knife slashing air is realisticly real. There are also monks that murmur and whisper in the background to try to give you the "freak out." Nothing to complain about here. What else can I say? The sounds are uber sweet.
Replay Value
Lots of it. When you complete round one (possible 20+ hours), you play round two obviously, but every item and weapon you had stored in the first round gets carried on to the next round. Cool concept, ay? This means you can start the next round with your upgraded weapons and experiencing the game in a whole new different way. I'm pretty sure you didn't collect all the treasures in your first round. You know what? Play the game again and collect them all. Anyways, once you beat the game you unlock The Mercenaries. This little nifty minigame can keep you entertained for hours while you try to get a high score. There is also a shooting range gallery minigame in the main game where you are supposed to shoot moving targets with a few selected guns. You get bottle cap prizes if you do good. You can also play Assignment Ada a couple times for an easy challenge. So yeah, lots of replayability in Resident Evil 4.
Overall
This is one of the greatest games to hit the shelves this year by far. This will turn into a "Players Choice" game really, really soon and there's nothing to not like about this game. It's sheer perfection. You just have to experience the power, you just have to! This is definitely a "buy" game, you must own this precious game disk. If you don't have the game, do me a favor and go get it. If you do have the game, play it again because you know it's all good. In conclusion: Best game evar!

Wait, you're still reading this? Get the game man! Score: 10/10